MUNSTER, Sebastian.
[Munster's famous woodblock illustrating sea monsters]De regnis septentrion. Monstra marina & terrestria, quæ passim in partibus aquilonis inueniuntur.Basle, c.1560, Latin text edition. Woodcut, printed area 280 x 350mm. A very fine example.Munster's famous woodcut of sea monsters, based on Olaus Magnus' 'Carta Marina' of 1539. Besides a lobster large enough to hold an unfortunate sailor in its claw, there are monsters with the heads of a dog, boar, owl & bull: tusks, horns and twin-spouts abound. One vignette shows a galleon trying to outrun one monster by throwing their cargo overboard. Many of these monsters were adapted by Ortelius for his map of Iceland in 1587.
[Ref: 18830]
£2,250.00
($2,986 • €2,597 rates)

BÜNTING, Heinrich.
[Fantasy map of Europe as a Queen from Bunting's Itinerarium]Europa Prima Pars Terræ in Forma Virginis.Magdeburg, 1581-, German edition. Woodcut, printed area 300 x 370mm. Some old ink marginalia.The famous fantasy map depicting Europe as a Virgin Queen, with Iberia her head and crown; Denmark her right arm; Italy her left arm with Sicily an orb in her hand; Greece, the Balkans and Russia her skirts; and Bohemia a medallion on a chain over her heart. The map appears in Bünting's Itinerarium, in which the author, a theologian, rewrote the Bible as a travel book. with other fantasy maps including the World as a cloverleaf and Asia as Pegasus, the winged horse of Perseus.
[Ref: 16838]
£2,850.00
($3,782 • €3,289 rates)

BÜNTING, Heinrich.
[The famous fantasy map of Asia as Pegasus]Asia Secunda pars Terræ in Forma Pegasir.Hanover, 1581-. Woodcut. Printed area 300 x 370mm.A fantasy map depicting Asia as Pegasus, the winged horse of Perseus. The head is Turkey and Armenia, the wings Scythia and Tartary, forelegs Arabia, hind legs India and the Malay Peninsula. This strange map appears in Bünting's Itinerarium, in which the author, a theologian, rewrote the Bible as a travel book, with other fantasy maps including the World as a cloverleaf and Europe as the Virgin Mary. Although the title and text under the map are in Latin, the text on verso is German.
[Ref: 19273]
£2,750.00
($3,649 • €3,174 rates)

STRADA, Famiano.
[The famous 'Leo Belgicus']De Bello Belgico Decas Prima. Famiani Stradæ Rom. Soc. Iesu.Rome, c.1632. 320 x 220mm. Old ink mss. in margins.The famous map of the Netherlands depicted as a 'Leo Belgicus'. The lion faces right, with the title on a shield held upright by the lion's right paw. It appeared as the engraved titlepage of the Jesuit Strada's history of the Belgian wars, first published 1632.MCC 7: Tooley, Leo Belgicus 15, plate VII.
[Ref: 17699]
£3,250.00
($4,313 • €3,751 rates)

BÜNTING, Heinrich.
[An engraved version of the famous map of Europe as a Virgin Queen]Europa Prima Pars Terræ in Forma Virginis.Brunswick: Emmeran Kirchnern, 1646, German text edition. 260 x 360mm. Trimmed to plate at sides, as issued.A very uncommon copper-engraved version of Bünting's fantasy map depicting Europe as a Virgin Queen, with crown, orb and sceptre. Iberia forms her head and crown; Denmark her right arm; Italy her left arm with Sicily an orb in her hand; Greece, the Balkans and Russia her skirts; and Bohemia a medallion on a chain around her neck. The map was published in Bünting's 'Itinerarium Sacræ Scriptura', a commentary on the bible written as a travel book, first published 1581. The work also contains a map of the World as a cloverleaf and Asia as Pegasus the winged horse. Although the title and text under the map are in Latin, the text on verso is German.
[Ref: 17586]
£2,900.00
($3,848 • €3,347 rates)

STRADA, Famiano.
[The famous 'Leo Belgicus' map]De Bello Belgico Decas I.Antwerp: J. Cnobbari, 1649. 160 x 95mm.A small-format version of the famous map of the Netherlands depicted as a lion. It faces right, with the title on a shield held upright by the lion's right paw. It appeared as the engraved titlepage of the Jesuit Strada's history of the Belgian wars, first published 1632, with a second volume in 1647. This is the title for the first volume of the Dutch edition of the two-part set.VAN DER HEIJDEN: Leo Belgicus 10.2.
[Ref: 16273]
£700.00
($929 • €808 rates)

DU VAL, Pierre.
[A scarce sheet of geographical playing cards]Les Tables de Geographie reduites en un Jeu de Cartes.Paris: du Val, 1669. Original colour. 415 x 545mm. Narrow top margin, as issued.An uncut sheet of 52 playing cards, divided into the four French suits now adopted in the English-speaking world. Each suit is assigned to a continent: Hearts to Europe, Diamonds to Asia, Spades to Africa and Clubs to America). Each suit has three face cards with roundel portraits and 10 numbered cards, representing a region on that continent, all with the suit symbol with the card number engraved within it. These numbers are often obscured by the thick hand colour, but fortunately the numbers are repeated elsewhere. The number cards all have a list of facts about the region equalling the card's number. At the head of the sheet is a panel containing the title, the arms of Louis, Dauphin of France (1661-1711) and dedication, and four small continental maps, probably created to decorate a box for the cards. Of interest is the Queen of Clubs: a supposed portrait of Queen Elizabeth I represents Virginia, with 'facts' limited to 'Pomeiok (another name for the Pamlico tribe and their village), Jamestown et autre places'. The 8 of Clubs is 'Canada' but includes references to Boston and Manhattan, rather playing down England's possession of both towns. Engraved by Robert Cordier (d. c.1673).
[Ref: 18886]
£3,000.00
($3,981 • €3,462 rates)

TAVERNIER, Jean-Baptiste.
[17th century Illustration of diamonds]Page. 149. A Representation of 24 the fairest Diamonds Chosen out among all those which Travels in India. Monseiur Tavernier sold to the King at his last return from the Indies, upon which Consideration, and for severall services done the Kingdome His Majesty honored him with the Title of Noble.London, 1678. 205 x 235mm. Trimmed to plate on right.Tavernier was a 17th-century French gem merchant and traveller. Tavernier's writings show that he was a keen observer, as well as a remarkable cultural anthropologist. His Six Voyages became a best seller and was translated into German, Dutch, Italian, and English during his lifetime. The work is frequently quoted by modern scholars writing about the period.
[Ref: 17636]
£200.00
($265 • €231 rates)

VIANEN, Jan van.
[A striking titlepage from the 'Neptune François' sea-atlas]Le Neptune François.Amsterdam: Pierre Mortier, 1693. 500 x 365mm. Faint creasing.The titlepage from the First Part of the 'Neptune François', a sumptuous sea-atlas that Koeman described as 'the most expensive sea-atlas ever published in Amsterdam... intended more as a show piece than something to be used by pilots at sea'. This titlepage features Neptune in a sea-chariot drawn by white horses, mer-people, fleets of ships and allegorical figures of winged gods, all within an ornate border.
[Ref: 13983]
£700.00
($929 • €808 rates)